


Deserted

by kdwalbring



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angst, Anxiety Attacks, Bisexuality, Children, Danger, Desert Island, Drama, Homosexual Character, M/M, Pansexual Character, Plane Crash, Smut, Survival, but it doesn't get there kindly, children in some peril, it ends happy, may include beginnings of starvation, mentions of bad parenting, mute character, there will be smut, tragic childhoods
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-13
Updated: 2015-05-09
Packaged: 2018-02-08 16:40:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1948482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kdwalbring/pseuds/kdwalbring
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sam and Dean decide to take a tropical vacation to reconnect after a series of successes in their lives and to avoid the memories of lost loved ones.  However, when the plane crashes near a deserted island, they'll be forced to live and survive with four other people from the plane; the brothers Gabriel and Castiel and two children whose parents died on the plane.  Will they be able to hold on until rescue arrives or will the heat and company overwhelm them?  Will they lose what little family they have left or will it grow in the wake of tragedy?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so this is my first fic. I really appreciate any and all criticism and critiques, but please no flames or hate. I don't have an official beta, though a couple of friends have looked at this chapter. I really hope everyone enjoys it. Please, leave comments and suggestions! :)

Deserted Chapter 1

Dean shifted in his seat, straining to relieve the tension in his legs from being cramped for so long. He was uncomfortable enough with flying, but come on; there was barely even enough space for the two kids sitting behind him, let alone his and his brother’s enormous frames. The other passengers didn’t seem to mind as much. The two guys who had come together were wrapped up in themselves. Judging from the steady kicking against the back of his seat and the smothered giggles, the kids from the little family that had come racing down the strip ten minutes before take-off were totally comfortable, as were their parents. No one else seemed worried about how the whole plane seemed to jerk around periodically or how loud the engines were. The pilot was up front behind a curtain, listening to music and the airline’s radio. Just a quick six hour jaunt and then they’d be on Island Paradise in the middle of Bum-fuck nowhere or something. 

In front of him, Sammy dozed against the window. The bastard had fallen asleep almost as soon as the airplane had hit cruising altitude. Fucking perfect. So much for “reconnecting” on their impromptu vacation to celebrate Dean finally opening his own restaurant and Sam finishing his residency. Of course the fast approaching anniversary of their father’s suicide had nothing to do with it. Or Jess’s death a year back. And certainly not his failed relationship with Lisa. The plane lurched a bit and Dean tightened his hold on his armrest, softly humming to himself. 

“Want a piece of gum?” a voice across the aisle asked.

Dean turned towards the proffered treat, and then glanced up into a grinning face. And damn, was this guy eye candy with darkened honey for eyes and hair. Dean hadn’t been with another guy since Benny a few years back and he was taking a break from the playing field, but this guy wasn’t his usual fare anyways. A too large nose and narrow lips weren’t really attractive in general, but it worked disturbingly well on that face. The guy had to be at least five years older than him, but age stopped mattering after a certain point. 

“First time flyer? Pretty awful isn’t it? My first time was pretty rough too, if you get my drift.” He winked. “Gum helps me. Gives me something else to focus on, with all the tongue action… and it helps relieve the pressure in the ear drums. Very handy stuff. Practically a hot commodity. So yeah, do you want some?”

Dean accepted the gum, murmuring his thanks. The guy took that as further invitation for conversation.

“So where are you guys headed? Honeymoon? Eloping? Should I be worried about my brother’s innocence? I know some good spots out here if you need some suggesti–“

“Dude, no! Sam’s my brother. We’re just… we needed to get away, you know. Figured a vacation to the tropics would be a good idea.” Dean glanced in front of the guy, noticing a darker haired man hunched over a book, utterly oblivious to their conversation or the shaking cabin. “That’s your brother? At least he’s conscious… kinda.”

The man beamed. “Cassie? Yep, he can be pretty entertaining when he’s not all wrapped up in his own world. I’m Gabe by the way, or Gabriel if you want to sound like my father.”

Dean clasped their hands in a firm shake. “Dean Winchester. Yeah, like the rifle. That’s my little brother Sam, who is a lot less lame when he’s awake. Just finished his residency. You can call him Dr. Winchester if you really want to piss him off. General surgery.” 

Gabriel whistled softly. “Really now? That’s pretty sweet. Your brother might just be cooler than mine; he’s head librarian at some fancy college. I think he only does that ‘cause he likes books better than people, though. What about you? What’s a fine specimen of the human species like you do?” 

Dean almost gaped at the guy. Flirting openly was all fine and dandy, but jeez where was the subtlety? “Me? I just signed a lease for my own restaurant. Before that, I worked as a mechanic and put myself through culinary school, barely. Thank god my brother’s such a nerd, got a full ride, or else there was no way I could have paid for him to go to school. Hell, housing was still pretty killer there for a while before the school gave him a stipend.”

“You put your brother through school? What? Parents tight asses or something? They not the huggy-feely type?”

Dean’s jaw worked. The guy didn’t know, wasn’t his fault he sounded like a complete asshole. Breathe in. Out… The cabin shook again and he swore viciously, bearing down on his armrests again. He hated flying, nowhere to move away, nowhere to escape to. Gabe’s eyes widened for a moment, and then he reached out tentatively.

“Hey man, I’m sorry. That was callous. Forget it. It must have been pretty tough putting your bro through college. Loads of respect and all that.”

Dean blew out a sigh and forced himself to relax. His smile felt strained. “It’s cool, you didn’t know… Callous? That’s a pretty fancy word. You an intellectual sort? Read Byron and the financial section of the newspaper?” He laughed when Gabe’s face screwed up in disgust.

“Ick. Nope, though some of the kiddies like to get read to.” Dean quirked his eyebrow. “I work as a nurse in a children’s hospital. The night shift, so it’s as much about putting the kids to sleep as it is about doing actual medical stuff. Bedtime stories are an absolute must for some of the younger brats. The older ones try to play it cool, but they listen just as closely. I have a habit of carrying candy and gum with me too, so I’m pretty much the most awesome and favorite nurse there.” Gabriel’s eyes glazed over for a moment. “Just try to make the whole thing suck a little less for them, you know? It gets pretty bad. Sometimes…”

Gabriel sank into himself for a few long moments, staring down at his hands, and Dean didn’t interrupt. He couldn’t do that, not every day. It had been hard enough taking care of Sammy when their father had left them on their own and he remembered that time with pneumonia, how frightening that had been. Dean remembered how powerless he had felt standing next to the hospital bed, Sam’s stuffed moose dangling from his fingertips. No way he could take care of sick kids all day. 

Gabriel hadn’t moved and the furrows in his forehead were getting deeper, marring the lines of his face. Dean decided that was enough. He toed the other man’s ankle.

“So why are you and your bro headed out to the tropics? Gonna bury yourselves in beautiful women and booze?”

Gabe blinked at him for a moment before a small grin snuck onto his face. “Nah, technically it’s a business trip. Cas’s going to examine and pick up some fancy document or another at one of the local colleges once we land. I’m here to make sure he doesn’t die of absolute boredom.”

“By absolute boredom you of course mean peace and quiet, brother. What would I ever do without you to drag me into the world?” Cassie looked back from his seat, face blank. Damn, some good genes ran in this family. The brothers looked almost nothing alike, but Dean wasn’t going to question it. God only knows how often he and Sam had been mistaken for a couple instead of brothers.

Gabriel stuck his tongue out. “Crash and burn, Castiel, crash and burn. You love me and you know it.”

They sank into safer topics after that. Favorite foods, best terrible movie, most awesome prank ever played. There was a particularly heated discussion on whether or not Dr. Sexy should hook up with Dr. Piccolo or with Dr. Wang in the next season, even though it was obvious that Wang and Sexy had some serious chemistry. Gabriel provided a steady stream of conversation and candy to distract from the jolting airplane. Apparently, it was entirely normal for smaller planes to feel so violent. That didn’t ease Dean’s discomfort, but the rousing debate on the best kind of pancakes and whether or not they could be eaten for dinner helped.

Four hours into the flight and he was getting a nasty cramp in his left leg. No amount of wriggling or contortion seemed to help, so he settled in to ride it out. Gabriel offered his sympathies… after demonstrating that he could stretch out his legs with ease.

Gabe laughed at his dark muttering. “Not my fault you’re gigantic, gorgeous.”

Dean’s reply was cut off by a particularly violent jarring of the plane. Sam’s head bashed against the window and the other passengers cried out, alarmed. Sam groaned, head cradled in his hands.

“Sam? Sammy, you okay?”

“Dean… I think ‘m bleeding.”

Dean scrabbled at his seatbelt while trying to twist around the seat to see his brother. There was a lot of blood. He couldn’t tell how bad it was. Castiel was tearing through the compartment in front of him, trying to get to the first aid kit underneath the inflatable raft. Gabriel was already unbuckled, speaking soft and firm, hand out for the kit as he hovered over Sam. The plane jerked again and Dean snagged Gabe before the man tumbled to the back of the plane. 

“Got you.” Dean glared at the curtain hiding the pilot while trying to keep Gabriel vertical enough to help Sam. “What the fuck is going on? What’re you doing?”

The answer was lost in a blast of noise. Dean glanced out the windows where Gabe had been sitting and went pale. The engine was on fire. Sharp cries clashed around the cabin, the mother was calling her children to her. Cassie unbuckled and moved to brace Sam, who was struggling against his blanket. Everyone was in motion.

The engine exploded. 

Dean curled around Gabriel, tucking him away from the flames. “Sam! Sammy, hold on!”

They were falling, pieces of the plane peeling away as the plane dove towards the water. First the wing, then part of the damaged hull, then the whole cockpit was torn away. The world spun violently, light blue and puffy white clouds twisted into the near black of the ocean below. Dean was screaming, but the air was wrenched from his lungs.

The plane slammed into the water and Gabriel was jerked from his arms. Dean was thrown around in his seat. He was sinking, the opened compartment filling with water rapidly. It was frigid this far from land. He struggled with his seatbelt, trying frantically to get free, to get to Sam. He couldn’t see Sam. Couldn’t see anyone. Dean sank, alone in the middle of the ocean, drowning. He was drowning. He was going to die. He wrenched the belt apart and swam towards the surface. His boots were dragging him down, so he kicked them off, immediately rising easier without the extra weight. He ducked under some debris and sputtered as he breached. 

“Sam!” Dean choked on salt water as he searched for his brother. He caught a flicker of green out of the corner of his eye. Sam’s hoody. His brother floated for a moment off to his left, then began to sink limply. Dean paddled towards his brother reaching out desperately. He snagged an elbow and dragged Sam back to the surface. He wasn’t breathing. Oh god. Dean fought to keep them both afloat when the weight lessened significantly.

Cas heaved Sam’s other arm over his shoulder. “The raft. It’s over there.”

Turning, Dean saw it, flamboyantly yellow amidst the destruction. They tugged Sam’s inert body to it. Cas crawled in and dragged Sam up with him, immediately starting CPR. Dean floundered for a minute, wanting to be near his brother, but not wanting to crowd Castiel while he was trying to save Sam’s life.

“Mommy! Daddy! Mama!” a high voice cried out.

Dean spun around, searching for the little girl. He saw her, bobbing in Gabriel’s arms a distance away, her brother wedged against his other side. Gabe was trying to stay above the water with just his legs. He slipped under. Dean swam as fast as he could towards them, watching as Gabe came up gasping and coughing, the little girl screaming even louder for her parents. He reached them and immediately dragged the boy into his own arms. Gabriel turned to him, eyes wide and a nasty cut on the side of his face.

“Your brothers got the raft over there. Follow me.” Dean turned in time to see Sam spasm awake, his coughs echoing over the open water. He murmured to the kid as he headed back towards the raft. The boy just shook silently, his arms wound tight around Dean’s neck. Cas lifted the children into the boat, then his brother. Dean started to climb in but saw something in the water nearby. A bag and the first aid kit. He pitched them into the raft as the others called out for the pilot and the two parents. Sam pointed out another piece of luggage and Dean fetched it.

“I can see an island!” Dean followed the girl’s gestures and there it was. A ways off. A long ways off, but there. Gabriel had the kit open and was trying to stem the bleeding on Sam’s temple. Cas was wrapped around the children, trying to keep them warm or calm or both. Dean looked around one last time, but the wreck had finally sunk. It was quiet. There was no one else. Nobody could’ve held their breath that long. They needed to get to the island.

“Sam, make sure I’m keeping us pointed in the right direction,” he shouted. Dean put his shoulder to the raft and started to push, his legs beating under the water. It was at least a mile to the shore. They needed to get to it as fast as possible.

He pushed for what seemed like hours, shivering as the ocean sapped away his body heat. Sam called out corrections occasionally, but it was mostly silent except quiet murmurs to the kids. They found another bag, but it was otherwise uneventful. Just an endless expanse of freezing water. Dean felt his strength flagging, his kicks becoming increasingly sporadic. Someone in the raft fell into a coughing fit and there was a slight scramble as people adjusted and tried to offer some relief. They were depending on him. Dean gritted his teeth and renewed his efforts.

He felt something pass underneath him. Terrified, he glanced down expecting to see a gaping maw. Instead he came face to face with some of the most beautiful coral he’d ever seen. Coral only grew close to shore where the sunlight could pierce the water. Dean kicked savagely, eager to get out of the ocean and onto dry land. Brightly colored fish swam near him as he passed over. Beautiful. Hypnotic. There was splashing from the front of the raft and Dean jerked, eyes snapping open again, only then realizing that he had started to drift to sleep. 

The yellow blimp was dragged forward on the beach and then there were hands under his arms, roughly pulling him forward. Sam was shaking… or maybe he was, Dean wasn't sure. He tried to speak, to ask if Sammy was okay, but nothing came out through his chattering teeth. Voices passed over his head, something about body temperature. Were the kids okay? Dean struggled to sit up, but his limbs refused to cooperate. He blinked as honey colored eyes peered at him from above and then he drifted off into the encroaching darkness.


	2. Chapter Two

Awareness returned to Dean in bits and pieces. Aborted sensations tingled up his spine and he tried to twitch away. He became aware of a body pressed to his front, hands vigorously rubbing his back and arms. Dean blinked his eyes open, wincing when drying salt fell off his eyelashes. He groaned.

“Dean!” Sam cried, jerking him out of someone else’s arms and crushing him in one of those giant bear hugs. “Why the hell didn’t you say anything? One of us could have swam for a while. Jerk.”

He grumbled, “Bitch. Wouldn’t want you to ruin that ridiculous hair… It’s okay. ‘M fine, Sammy. Get me up wouldya.” 

Dean was tugged to his feet and he swayed for a moment, shuddering and squinting against the light. Sand pressed into his socks. Grimacing, he yanked them off before looking around. Cas was moving the few bags they had managed to salvage from the wreckage while the two kids hovered nearby, clinging to one another. Sam was making his concerned face out towards the ocean. Soft grunts behind him had Dean glancing over his shoulder, then grabbing Gabriel’s arms to help him off the sand.

“I see you just couldn’t keep your hands off me. Hope Sammy was able to protect my virtue.” He joked, tugging the man to his feet. Dean paused for a moment. “Dude… you’re, like, tiny.” Gabriel glared at him. “Oh shit! I said that out loud? I must be out of it. Sorry… short stack.”

Gabriel sniffed. “I’m not tiny. You lot are all just abnormally large. I happen to be travel sized and built for convenience.”

Dean watched him flounce off with muted appreciation and then joined his brother in gazing out over the ocean. Sam’s mouth was twisted in a frown, eyebrows dipped low. Why had the engine gone out? Did the company know where to look for them? Hell, did they even know to look? Were the other three people from the plane dead? How the hell were they gonna get off this island?

Dean shook himself and nudged Sam’s side. “You okay? You, uh, you stopped breathing there for a while. Your head alright?”

“Yeah,” he said softly. “I’m good. Professor Novak helped me out.”

Dean’s eyebrows furrowed. Had they found someone else? “Who the fuck is Professor Novak? The fuck happened while I was pushing all your prissy asses to the island?”

Bitch face. That’s more like it. “Gabe’s younger brother? We were all getting acquainted while you took your beauty nap, princess.”

Ah, Castiel. “Right, got it. Any idea where we are other than the middle of nowhere?”

Sam’s reply was cut off by a sharp voice. “If you boys are done gossiping about us pretty ladies, we could use some help.” Dean and Sam turned, Gabriel’s peeved face glaring at them from the other side of the boat, the blood drying on the side of his face making him look particularly fierce. “We need to get the kids out of the sun and clean out any open wounds before they start to get infected.”

Dean saluted. “Message received, commander.” Wow. Gabriel had a pretty decent bitch face too.

Dean shuffled over the sand, which was burning the bottom of his feet now. Fucking awesome. He grabbed the raft and dragged it up the beach towards the trees. From the sounds coming from behind him, everyone was moseying along after. He and Sam leaned the obnoxious blimp against some of the larger trees and propped up the other end with a couple of sticks. Not great, but it’d be enough for a couple of hours.

Sam took lead. “So, we don’t all know each other yet. It might be a good idea to do some proper introductions before we figure out what to do next.”

“An icebreaker, Sammy? Really? We’re stuck in the middle of nowhere and you want to waste time on this?” Sam jerked his chin at the kids, who were still wrapped around to each other. Dean blew out a sigh. “Alright. I’m Dean; this is my brother Dr. Sam. He just finished his residency to become a doctor and I own my own restaurant back home in Kansas. I’m an Aquarius and I enjoy long walks on the beach… which is what I planned to do on this vacation, though not quite like this.” If Sam kept that up, his face was gonna get stuck like that.

“My name is Professor Castiel Novak and this is my older brother Gabriel. He is a children’s nurse and I run the libraries for a number of sister colleges back in the states. I am glad we all survived, though I also would have preferred if we had reached our destination.” Cas’s hands shook while he spoke, trembling as he twisted the hem of his shirt. Poor bastard looked about ready to pass out where he stood, but his voice held fairly firm. His brother bumped against him for a fleeting moment.

Gabriel turned to the children, a gentle smile on his face as he dropped down to their level. “You guys can call me Gabe. And who are you two? Are you famous? I bet you’re famous. You’ll have to give me autographs if I can find my journal. And you!” He gestured broadly at the little boy. “I bet you get all the girls. You’ve got to be…what? At least fifteen or something right?” 

The boy smiled, hands pressed tight over his mouth to keep his giggles in. His sister spoke up. “Nuh-uh. Tommy’s only eight. My name’s Annette and I’m six. I’m going to be a ballet dancer when I grow up. Tommy says girls are gross and have cooties, but I think he’s lying ‘cause boys are the ones who are really gross. Do you think girls are gross?”

Sam piped up. “Nope, no grossness there. And wow! A ballet dancer? That’s awesome. Tell me Annie, can I call you Annie? Tell me, do you remember your parents’ names or if you or Tommy is allergic to anything?”

Annie’s face screwed up in thought. “Mommy is Mommy, though Daddy calls her honey sometimes. Daddy gets called “big boy”.” Tommy nodded vigorously. “Mommy also said that we’re “allergic to soap and keeping our shoes clean”, but I don’t know about that. Tommy doesn’t talk anymore, except with his hands, not since Grandpa went to heaven, but Mama said that’s not an excuse for dirty feet. Where are Mommy and Daddy? They’re going to take us to see the sea turtles, but Tommy wants to go see sting rays. Sting rays are gross too, kinda like boys.”

Oh shit. The parents. Dean glanced around. Sam seemed very interested in his shoes suddenly, his eyes suspiciously misty. Cas was back to fiddling with his shirt, his breath coming more raggedly, and Gabriel sagged where he knelt.

Dean cleared his throat. “Well, kiddo, your parents might have swam up onto another part of the island. We’ll look for them after we make sure everyone’s fine, okay? I’m sure they’re trying to find us too.”

Tommy frowned at him, eyes narrowing. He tugged on his sister’s arm and then rapidly signed to her. Annie’s eyes widened for a moment before she hit him hard. “Shut up! You’re lying and stupid and gross. You’re lying.” She looked up at Dean, hands spread wide. “Tommy says that Mommy and Daddy are in heaven with Grandpa, but he’s stupid and lying… right?” Her eyes flooded and pointed at Tommy, chest heaving. “He a big dumb liar-face. Mommy and Daddy are fine. We’re going to see the sea turtles and when we get home, we’re going to get a kitten ‘cause we were so good during the move. And then they’re going to take us to see Grandma P. when we get back and we’re all going to get giant sundaes with bananas and all the cherries and sprinkles we want. And then they’re… they’re…”

Dean had her wrapped in his arms before he realized he had moved, her tiny fists beating against his chest even as she burrowed into him, wailing. He blinked back tears and reached for Tommy, who was sobbing silently. “Shh, I got you. Got you both. It’s gonna be okay, we’ll take care of you. They really could be down the beach, but if we can’t find them, me ‘n Sam will take care of you. Gabe and Cas too. Sh, baby girl, I’ve got you. I won’t let anything happen to you and Tommy, okay. Come on, sweetheart.”

He rocked them back and forth, roughly humming broken pieces of lullabies his mother used to sing to Sammy and him when they were little. Dean looked up only to see Gabriel wrapped around Cas, cradling him as Castiel struggled for breath, eyes too wide and quietly whimpering. Sam mouthed panic attack to him and sat down between them all, large hands stretching out to soothe and stroke gently. 

“Tommy, why do you think your parents are dead? Can you tell me?” Dean tried to keep his voice soft.

Tommy drew back, sniffling, and slowly signed to his sister. “He says Mommy and Daddy were still buckled in the plane because you’re supposed to keep your seatbelt on. He saw them sink.” She buried her face in Dean’s neck again.

He fought his rebellious stomach. He should have checked behind him before swimming up. Dean’s whole body felt heavy. Eventually, he lifted the children into his arms and carried them under the make-shift lean-to before returning to the other men. Cas gulped a couple a deep breaths before the tension finally drained away, his whole body slumping against Gabriel’s before he straightened. He jerked away from Sam and Gabriel, furiously straightening his shirt and tie.

Dean knelt, voice low and sharp. “What are we gonna do? It could be days before anyone shows up to find us. I don’t know shit about surviving on an island.” He scrubbed his hands through his hair roughly, nails biting into his skin. “Just… fuck! The fuck just happened? The fuck is going on anymore? The hell are we supposed to do?” Sam’s hand clasped his shoulder, solid and heavy. Dean forced himself to take deep breaths.

“Well, first we should figure out what we have and maybe where we are. If we’re close enough to an inhabited island, someone could have seen the plane go down. Anyone any good with geography?” Gabriel asked. 

Cas looked up. “Few islands in this part of the world have many people living on them anymore. They’ve mostly moved to a few central islands to take part in the tourism trade.”

“Okay… well there goes that idea. We need to figure out what’s in those bags that we found, do an injury check, and then we’ll figure it out from there. Hydration is also going to be an issue here pretty soon if we’re not picked up by the end of the day.”

“I’m good, maybe some bruises from the seatbelt.” Dean glanced around the beach, spotting an outcropping of rocks a little ways down. “I can see if there are some fist-sized rocks down there. Maybe we can beat open a couple of coconuts? Aren’t those supposed to be super hydrating or something?”

“Good idea. You and Cas get on that. Gabe and I will patch each other up and then go through the stuff. Unless you’re hurt Cas. Are you good?” God, those puppy eyes.  
Castiel nodded, jaw tight. “I am fine Samuel. I will accompany Dean. Please take care of my brother.”

Gabriel fluttered his eyelashes. “Aw Cassie, you do care.” He laughed at Cas’s glare.

“C’mon Cas, before he gives himself an aneurism from thinking he’s funny.” 

They walked away from Gabe’s indignant cries of “I’m hilarious”, searching for rocks to use. Cas’s shoulders remained tight, his gaze methodical. Dean glanced over. “You okay? That was some heavy shit back there.”

Cas’s eyes narrowed. “I am fine, Dean. I am entirely capable of taking care of myself. If you would prefer to search by yourself or with your brother, I will take my fragile self back to base camp.”

Dean held up his hands. “Dude, no. Wouldn’t expect anyone to deal with this crap easily. Hell, I was having it rough there for a couple of minutes. You just looked tense. Thought maybe you had lied about not being hurt or something.”

“Oh.” The tension in Cas’s shoulders eased minutely. “I apologize. I am unused to having an audience other than Gabriel during an attack and people are rarely… “

Dean nodded. “It’s cool. I got ‘em right after…” Dean swallowed thickly. “Right after my mother died. I was four. My dad didn’t really have the, uh… he wasn’t… but they eventually stopped. But yeah man, I get it. At least a little.” He looked away from Cas’s inquisitive gaze. “There’s a couple that look like they could work. Grab ‘em and let’s get some coconuts open for our sissy nurse brothers.”

“I strongly doubt either would appreciate that sentiment.” Cas curled his long fingers around a couple of hefty rocks. “And your brother would likely not enjoy being called a nurse after finally earning his title, nor does he appear to be a “sissy” at least as far as I have observed.”

They stayed near the raft, shaking the green coconuts and picking out the one’s that sounded full until they had a respectable pile. Gabriel had the first-aid kit open and was twisting Sam’s head to get at the side of his head, which had stopped bleeding a while ago. Dean watched as Gabe’s strong fingers prodded the area gently and swept Sam’s obnoxious hair out of the way. He started when someone cleared their throat loudly and he caught Cas’s quirked eyebrow. Dean knelt down to get to work and fought down the blush rising on the back of his neck.

Smashing open coconuts fucking sucked. On TV it was all whack whack mmm delicious, but in reality it was a major pain in the ass. He was sweating through his shirt and Cas didn’t look to be having a better time. Exhausted, he sat down, gaze wandering over the people in base camp.

The largest bag they had saved ended up being Sam’s duffel, which was crammed full of gigantic shirts and an extra pair of flip-flops. He had given those to Dean. Gabriel had said if all else failed, they could probably make a giant flag out of the shirts that could be seen from space. The second was Gabriel’s carry-on, filled with snacks and a few other things. The last bag appeared to be the pilot’s, which Gabe was digging through.

“Tommy! Annie! You guys need to help me count the stuff in the bag alright. We’re going to start with these shirts. Make sure I do it right, okay? It’s pretty hot out here after all.” The kids crowded close, eyes narrowed in concentration. Gabriel began to count loudly. “One… two… three… six… eigh—“  
“Stop! Stop you did it wrong. There are only four shirts!”

“Nope, I’m pretty sure there are eight, silly.”

“Nuh-uh. You’re wrong. Even Tommy says there are only four.”

Gabe’s eyebrows furrowed and his mouth twisted in concentration. He gasped thematically when he realized he was holding a large set of shorts. “Huh, would you look at that. There are only four. Whew, it’s a good thing you guys are here or we’d all fall apart.”

Dean smothered his grin and turned around to get back to work. “Alright you sonovabitch, you’re going down.” He balanced the coconut on top of another rock and bashed the offending fruit three times rapidly and crowed when a crack formed. Another couple of firm knocks and the top fell away. “Ha! Take that you bastard!” Dean turned to the others. “Who wants some fresh coconut juice, prepared by hot tropical virgins?”

Sam snorted as he hurried over. “You’re about as far from a virgin as you can get Dean.”

“Hot though.” Gabriel smirked.

Dean handed him the coconut for being the smartest in the company. It was quickly passed around, until he finally got his own long drink. Never had anything tasted so sweet. Everyone seemed to relax for a few moments as they sipped more and nibbled on the fresh fruit.

“Alright!” Gabriel clapped loudly. “I’ll take three more please. Put it on my tab!”

Dean gaped. “Three! I only just got this one open.”

“I’m an expensive date. You better get started big boy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will be in Castiel's POV and will probably be up sometime next week. It's killing me not to have internet all the time now...


	3. Chapter Three

Castiel sat solemnly with the others as they passed the opened coconut between them, both pleased that they had finally succeeded and peeved that he hadn’t been the one to open it first. He waved the fruit away when it returned to him before returning to his own little workstation, intent on being somewhat useful.

 

He lifted the rocks in his hands, staring intently to unlock their secrets.  There was movement behind him as people got over the novelty of hydration.  Cas was about to start up again when Dean exclaimed loudly. Turning, he watched as Gabriel sagged into Dean’s arms, abnormally pale.  His chest tightened threateningly, but he shoved it down to stagger over to his brother, who was blearily looking around.

 

“Wha… what happened?”

 

At least he was talking, Cas opened his mouth to reply but Dean spoke over him. “You fainted like a damsel.  Very dramatic.” His voice softened. “You alright?  Don’t have a concussion or something do you?”

 

“It’s more likely a combination of his blood sugar dropping from blood loss, stress, and the heat.” Sam stated, face pinched.  “Should have seen the signs earlier, sorry.”

 

“There was nothing you could have done, Samuel.” Cas turned to the children. “Will one of you go and fetch one of those snack bars from Gabriel’s bag and bring it here.”

 

Gabriel tried to roughly pry himself from Dean’s arms. “I’m not some delicate flower.  We need to save those for—“

 

“Be quiet Gabriel.” Cas stared at his brother, holding his gaze until Gabe finally looked away. Tommy handed him two of the snacks, wide eyed. “Yes, good. Thank you.”

 

Gabriel’s jaw tightened when Castiel handed him the first one opened, but soon devoured it, groaning in appreciation.  “Nothing fixes me up like chocolate.”  He shook his head at the second.

Dean tightened his arms slightly. “Eat it.  We’ve got coconuts to live on if nothing else and one granola bar isn’t going to make much of a difference between six people.”

 

Gabe sighed heavily before grabbing the second and eating it more slowly, breaking off some to share it with the children. Cas stared at Dean holding his brother, Gabriel leaning into him easily, and stood sharply, trying furiously to quell the first pangs of jealousy.  “We need more than these fruits to survive and we also need to find or build better shelter.  I will look around nearby to see if I can find anything.”

 

Protests immediately rang out, but he savagely cut them out of the air.  “It needs to be done.  Gabriel is in no shape to go exploring and Dean doesn’t have safe foot wear.  The children cannot go for obvious reasons.  That leaves me.”

 

“And me. I’ll go too.” Samuel piped in, turning to his brother. “Just keep Gabe hydrated and out of the sun for a while.  He should be fine, I think.  Cas and I can scout around, see if there’s anything useful or a better place to hole up until we get rescued.”

 

Cas’s jaw twitched. “You are injured too.  Besides, shouldn’t you stay near Gabriel until we are sure that he is recovered? ”

 

“I’m fine!  Jeez, you boys are all a bunch of mother hens.  No more coddling.”

 

Dean stared steadily at Sam, a heated discussion seemingly passing between them before he finally nodded tightly. “Don’t take any stupid risks and try to stay within shouting distance.  We’ll come running.”  He lifted Gabriel into his arms, despite indignant squawks and put him under the raft. “Tommy, Annie, make sure he stays put.  Use whatever means necessary.” Gabe was promptly buried under two squirming children demanding to look at Gabriel’s journal and Dean’s mouth twitched up at the corners. He turned back to them.  “I’ll keep them safe.  Good luck.”

 

Sam’s hand on his shoulder spurred him from his glaring. Cas didn’t look back as he picked a direction and started off into the jungle.  He could hear the larger Winchester hurrying to keep up with him and smiled wryly.  They marched, camp quickly falling away behind them.

 

“Hey Cas, could you slow down man? I know we need to get this done, but we’re no help to anyone hurt.” Why did he insist on making sense? Sam snagged his shoulder. “Hey! Would you gimme a second here?”

 

He stopped and spun to face Samuel, chin high. “What is it?”

 

Sam recoiled from him slightly, hands raised. “Easy. You okay?  You’ve had this look… I don’t know.  Talk to me, I want to help. Gabriel’s okay, Dean will take care of them. He seems kinda attached at the hip.” Cas’s face must have done something because Sam blinked with realization. “Is that what this is about? Dean and Gabe?” Sam puffed up, immense in the close trees. “You got a problem with my brother? Or is it the whole gay thing?”

 

Castiel sighed heavily. “Samuel, I can assure you that the _gay_ thing as you put it is not an issue. Both Gabriel and I were thrown out of our family for preferring men. It has been the just the two of us alone for long while and it would please me greatly to see him… happy with someone.”

 

“Then what’s the problem?”

 

Cas looked away, studying the area where they had stopped.  “I think I hear flowing water.  We should investigate.  It would be much easier than beating open coconuts.”

 

Sam’s hand descended onto his shoulder.  It was so hot it seemed to sear his skin.  “No.  We’re going to talk about this.”

 

“You are very stubborn.”

 

“It runs in the family.” Sam grinned, swiping his hair out of the way. “Seriously, man, we’re all in this together.  We need to help each other.”

 

 “I seem to be needing more help than I can give…” he muttered, still scanning the surrounding jungle.

 

Sam gaped at him. “Seriously? Dude, you freakin’ saved the whole lot of us back at the crash.”

 

“I did not—“

 

“Yeah, you did. You got the raft.  You helped drag everybody in and kept us calm. Hell, you saved my life.  Cas, man… I’d be dead if you hadn’t been there.  You think that doesn’t matter?”

 

“My attack—“

 

“Was no big deal.  Fuck. I’m barely holding it together.” Sam shoved his hair out of his face. “It’ll be worse tomorrow when I wake up and realize it’s not a dream.  It’s always worse… And Dean? I haven’t seen him that bad since Dad died. The clinging?  The overprotectiveness?  It’s how he deals with shit.  It’ll get a hell of a lot worse and then he’ll shut down and I don’t know if I can…”

 

Cas stared at him steadily, searching Sam’s face for dishonesty. He found nothing, but muted panic and open concern. Sam’s eyes were beautiful under his heavy brows.  Cas swallowed. “Thank you, Samuel. I just wanted to be strong enough for my brother to lean on me, but he went to… ”

 

“Yeah.  I know how that goes.“  Sam snorted. “And, dude, it’s just Sam.  Which way do you think you heard the stream or river thingy?”

 

“River thingy?  Is that what they taught you in medical school?”  Cas quirked a smile at Sam’s rolled eyes and started off at a more sedate pace. The jungle was strangely noiseless around them.  “Why are you and your brother travelling together?”

 

Sam was silent for so long that Castiel assumed he hadn’t been heard and opened his mouth to ask again when Sam spoke softly. 

 

“Too many bad memories clinging to us. Too much death. Our father he, uh… died a while back, but the anniversary is coming up.  We were young, I was still in middle school.  The government wanted to put us in foster care, but Dean wouldn’t hear it. Dropped out of high school to raise me.  It doesn’t usually bother us so much, but…”

 

Cas looked up at Sam.  “You do not need to tell me if it is too difficult.”

 

“No, no. I just… haven’t dealt with it very well.” Sam looked straight ahead, jaw tight.  “My girlfriend died about a year ago.  She was alone and I was out with Dean, trying to help him get over… Anyways, it was labeled a robbery gone wrong. I should have been there, but I wasn’t and she died in our bedroom.  They never caught the guy.”

 

Cas brushed his hand against Sam’s shoulder. “I am sorry, Samu— Sam.  It must have been terrible.”

 

“We were going to get married.  I loved her and she’d just found out she…” Sam scrubbed his face, shoulders hunching in on him. Cas’s throat tightened and he gripped Sam’s arms while the Winchester got himself under control again.  “I haven’t told Dean everything, but that doesn’t mean much.  He practically raised me even when Dad was alive.  Just, please don’t tell him? We’ve got enough to deal with already.”

 

“As you wish.”

 

Sam sent him a grief-filled smile and they kept walking.  The jungle was beautiful, streams of sunlight filtered between the canopy’s leaves to reflect off bright undergrowth. The ocean’s constant waves faded as they moved deeper and the stream burbled ahead of them. Castiel watched the muscles of Sam’s back shift under his hoody, the thick fabric doing little to conceal his strength. He buried that quickly. Sam was not only straight, but still in mourning.  Forbidden and off limits on just about every level. There were more important things to worry about.  They shoved through the last of the brush and almost fell in to a shallow gorge.  Clear water burbled out towards the ocean, catching and throwing sunlight every which way. Sam let out a short whoop of success and Castiel found himself smiling as well.

 

He leaned down, dipping his hands in the stream, intent on drinking his fill when Sam’s hand tugged on his shoulder. “Wait.  It’s not safe to drink, probably.  There’s no telling what kind of crap is in there.” Sam’s brow furrowed deeply.  “We need to boil it for… fifteen minutes or something? Otherwise we could all get real sick and that’s the last thing we need.”

 

Castiel felt a wave of disappointment rise within him, but rose from his spot. “Oh. I had forgotten such things.  Perhaps we can find something to boil it in?” He let his gaze wander and was surprised when he saw a banana tree nearby.  “We should see if we can get to those, Gabriel’s snacks will not last and coconuts will soon become… tiresome.”

 

“Good idea.” 

 

They moved under the tree, the fruit out of their reach.

 

 “Got an idea.” Sam bent down and lifted Cas onto his shoulders.  Cas wasn’t sure when his legs had spread to sit atop Sam, but they had.  He shook himself, trying not to imagine those strong hands putting their strength to more enjoyable use.  “Can you reach?”

 

“Yes.”  Cas leaned forward carefully, hands reaching out towards the nearest bunch.  The fruit was smaller than the bananas they had in the U.S., but they were definitely the same species. A couple of large spiders scurried out of the bundle when his fingers touched it and he jerked back, Sam grunting beneath him.

 

“Okay up there?”

 

“Yes, the spiders here are exceptionally large… and hairy.”  Castiel quickly grabbed the same bundle and jerked roughly.  He let it fall to the ground and tapped Sam’s head to let him down. “Do you think it would be safe to soak those?  I can only imagine if the spiders are poisonous and I don’t want anyone getting bit.”

 

Sam thought for a moment.  “It should be fine.  We don’t eat the peels after all.”

 

Cas gingerly picked up the bunch and quickly dipped it into the stream. Unsure of how long it would take, he sat on the embankment. Sam sat next to him, tugging off his shoes and socks to soak his feet. Cas leaned back and breathed.  It was quiet, peaceful even, despite the violence that had occurred earlier.  He wasn’t sure if it was comforting or disquieting that the world continued to spin unaware.  Sam was hunched next to him, small.  Castiel didn’t like that.

 

“What were you and your brother planning to spend your vacation doing, Samuel?”

 

Sam blinked at him. “Uh, drink mostly, I guess.  There were some cool museums and stuff I thought might be interesting and maybe some hiking or swimming or something.  Neither of us has ever been out of the country before, so it’s all kind of new.”

 

“I see.” Cas rotated the bananas. “That makes sense.”

 

“What does?”

 

“Your choice of entertainment, seeing as to you and your brother’s… preferences go in different directions.”

 

“Preferences?”

 

Cas turned to Sam, momentarily enraptured by a stray bead of sweat meandering down his temple. “Your brother is gay and you’re strai—“

 

“What makes you think I’m straight?”

 

Castiel floundered. “But, you… you said your girlfriend had—“

 

“I’m not straight, not really.  I’m a pan.” Sam wiped the sweat away and Cas was momentarily too disappointed to understand what had been said. “Oh, and Dean’s bi by the way…”

 

Oh. _Oh._ “I apologize for presuming.  I’ve only ever had one relationship with a woman, it ended… poorly, and I did not feel… I apologize.”

 

Sam shrugged. “No big deal, happens all the time.” He sank into himself again, hand reaching up to finger something beneath his hoody.  A necklace maybe?  Sam noticed his curiosity and pulled it out.  The chain was entirely too delicate to be a man’s, the locket simple. “It was Jess’s.”

 

“Tell me about her?” Sam jerked away from him wide-eyed. “You cared for her deeply, Samuel. You should not carry this loss alone.  We have to help each other, right?  Your words.” Cas softened his voice. “Maybe… maybe I can help, just a little. Please, tell me about the woman you wanted to share your life with. Share her memory.”

 

Sam shuddered, huddling deeper into the hoody despite the heat. He looked fragile. “She was everything. She was studying to be a pediatrician, because she loved kids.  Jess used to put in extra hours all the time. Dean said she looked like our mother, but I’ve only ever seen my mom in pictures, so I’m not sure about that. She couldn’t cook for shit.” He laughed, voice breaking. “She burned water once, I swear.  Jess helped me through so much: finals, moving away from my family, sobering me up when… She was the kindest person I’ve ever known and she… she loved me.” Sam turned to him, a look of bewilderment on his face. “She loved me! A nobody from the middle of Kansas, scholarship student with a fucked up family and she loved me. I used to wake up early and hold her just because… and she never left.  No matter how angry we got, how loud we yelled during our arguments, she never left me.”

 

Sam continued for a while, talking about her smile, the way her hair had almost caught fire once in lab, her failed attempts at birthday cakes over the years. Castiel listened.  He murmured praise when Sam showed him Jess’s picture in the locket and finally held him when Sam broke.  The stream continued to flow merrily while they clung to each other, Sam sobbing and Cas blinking too fast and fighting down his panic. 

 

“What about you?”   


“Hm?” Cas looked down at Sam questioningly.

 

“Any great burdens you want to share now?  We’re practically family now that I’ve rubbed snot all over your shirt.” Sam laughed at his grimace.

 

Castiel stared down at the fruit in the stream, thinking. He didn’t move when Sam pulled away and sat up, making little questioning noises. He came to a decision and leaned back on his hands, staring into the sky.

 

“Gabriel and I were raised in a cult.” Sam inhaled sharply. “Or at least, that is the best equivalent I can think of.  My father was… prolific in having children and we all took religious names.  From the time we could walk, we were trained to be a part of… He believed that God’s will needed to be done on Earth as it was in Heaven, so he bred himself an army. Gabriel and I, we ran.  He was twenty-three and I was eighteen at the time. One of our brothers, Lucifer had disobeyed him somehow and was cast from the family after Father had… And when our father had found out about our preferences, we just…”

 

Castiel looked anywhere but Sam, studying the rocks in the little river, briefly wondering how they were going to boil water without a pot.

 

Sam touched his elbow gently. “It must have been awful.  Our dad was an ex-marine and after mom died he just kind of… reverted. It was… rough until Bobby, our adopted uncle, stepped in and forced him to settle down.”

 

Cas turned to Sam and stared at him while he spoke quietly.  “I have never wished to harm anyone in my life. Father made us… the little ones. But I never wanted it and neither did Gabriel. We ran. We ran and we left the younger ones there. We _left_ them there, Samuel, with that monster, with our elder brothers.  How could we… how can I…” His chest was too tight, he couldn’t breathe. Sam’s arms wrapped around him, sheltering him from the memories. 

 

_Knives glinting on the wall. Michael’s smile.  Little Samandriel’s cries. Poor little Samandriel who couldn’t shoot the bunny on the morning hunt. Castiel was holding a bucket of water and a mop.  Clean-up duty.  He was cleaning up… cleaning up…_

“Cas! Breathe, man.  I got you, you’re safe. C’mon breathe for me, breathe with me. That’s it. Hold it, let go. Good.” _Lucifer crawled away, bloody and broken.”_ You’re doing good. They can’t reach you, okay? “ _Pull out the innards, cut off the fur. Someone is crying. Spot had been a good dog_ “It wasn’t your fault, none of it was. Let go. I forgive you, alright? Just breathe for me.”

 

Forgiveness. The hard ball in his chest loosened a little.  Was he forgiven? Probably not.  They had gone back to get the children years later, but the house had been empty, the occupants long since gone. They didn’t know where their family was and the little ones were still with Him. Samandriel, Anias, little Hester and Anael. All gone, all lost.  But Sam forgave him, Sam who had lost so much too. Breathe.

 

It took time, but he eventually relaxed, exhausted from his second attack of the day.  Sam tightened his arms when Cas tried to pull away though.

 

“Give it a minute and then we’ll head back.  We can look around more later, tomorrow. It’s all too much today.”

 

They stayed like that for a few more minutes before Sam leaned forward and snagged the bananas and gave them a few good shakes.   Cas let him carry them as they walked back to camp. The ocean got louder as they walked, drowning out the silence between them.

 

They emerged from the trees a little away from the raft and walked slowly towards the others.  Gabriel was dozing, buried beneath the children with his journal still open on his lap. They could hear his soft snores. Dean stalked the beach, staring out at the water.  Castiel watched as the tense lines of his shoulders loosened when Dean saw Sam, who lifted the bunch of fruit triumphantly.  They could do this. Probably.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long! Insert the obligatory excuses about life, school, and the internet being distracting. It shouldn't take this long for an update again. Let me know what you think about a shifting POV.


	4. Chapter Four

Gabriel woke as the sun was dropping low in the sky, bleary eyed and cotton-mouthed. Sam and Cassie had come back at some point after he had dozed off and were talking quietly to Dean. He couldn't hear them, but from the deep frown on his brother’s face, whatever they were talking about couldn't have been pleasant. 

Tommy and Annie were snuggled up against him, having nodded off while they were all perusing Gabriel’s sketches. They were both limp in that way only children ever seemed able to be, Annie’s mouth parted around her not-so-delicate snores. He pulled them closer despite the heat, settling down to be used as a pillow for however long they needed him. He could do this; he was good at taking care of kids. Or he had been. If the boys needed him, they knew where to find him. 

The next time he woke up, it was dark and disturbingly cold. He felt the kids still pressed up against him, but there were other bodies. Sam and Cas were on one side, looked like they had fallen asleep while talking. Dean was a little ways away on the other side of Annie and staring out at the ocean.

“Hey.” Gabriel spoke softly.

“Hey.”

“Can’t sleep?”

Dean shifted. “Keeping watch. Didn't want a boat to go by and all of us be asleep and miss it.”

“Hm.” Even in the darkness, Gabriel could see the slump in Dean’s shoulders, the way he huddled into himself against the cold. “I don’t think anyone’s gonna come this soon. You should get some sleep.” Dean started to protest, but Gabe cut him off. “Listen, I think Annie might be getting cold and I’m worried about her getting hypothermia. Tommy’s okay ‘cause Cas is a freaking teddy bear in his sleep, but I don’t think I’m enough to keep her warm. Come over here.”

Dean hesitated, flicking his eyes between the sea and Annie, and Gabriel pushed again. “You don’t have to sleep, just get close so you share body heat. I don’t want her to get sick on top of everything else, you know?”

Dean sighed and crawled over, carefully lying down next to Annie before wrapping his arms around her and Gabriel. They were quiet for a while, both studiously ignoring the way Dean’s hands trembled on Gabe’s hip. Gabriel listened as Dean’s breathing slowly evened out and deepened. Bingo. Score one for the little guy. Gabe glanced over everyone, making sure that they were all resting as comfortable as possible. Satisfied, he wriggled deeper into their impromptu dog-pile and forced himself to sleep again.

Florescent light glared down on him. Everything was moving too fast and still in slow motion. Someone was shouting. Machines wailed, but they seemed far away. It was all so far away. The tiny body was still jerking on the hospital bed, big brown eyes slowly dulling as they stared at him.

What was he doing? He tried to reach out, but his hands wouldn’t move. The little boy was staring at him… staring at him. Why couldn’t he move? Hands gripped him tightly and shook.

“You could have saved him! You son of a bitch, you could have saved him. What good are you? You killed my baby!”

Gabriel tried to pull away, tried to explain. Nothing, there was nothing he could do. Nothing he could have done.

The little boy’s eyes pierced him, blank. A child was screaming, somewhere. So close. So loud. The hands were claws tearing into him. He was covered in blood, so much blood. Someone was screaming.

“It’s your fault, Gabriel. All your fault. How many kids are you going to kill, hm? You left your siblings behind and now? Now you’re killing these ones. Cursed, you’re cursed. Did you hear me Gabriel? You’re a disease and a monster? Gabriel. Gab—“

“—briel! Wake up! You’re fine, everything’s okay. C’mon Gabe, open your eyes. You’re scaring the kids!”

He jerked awake, breath coming in ragged pants. Dean and Cas were holding him down, their eyes wide. The children were tangled up in Sam’s arms. His stomach roiled and he wrenched himself away to hurl himself into the jungle. Gabriel only managed to get a few yards before he fell to his knees, retching. There were hands on his back and someone was pulling his hair out of the way while he groaned. He shook and dry heaved until his body was too exhausted to anymore.

Gabriel panted, didn’t have the energy to pull away when someone tugged him against their body. Dean murmured into his hair, hands soothing Gabe’s trembling sides.

“It’s okay. It’s over. We’re all fine. You’re safe and we’ve got you, alright? Just breathe.”

He sighed and allowed himself to be held for a while longer before straightening. “Well, that’s a hell of a way to wake up in the morning.” Gabriel huffed. “Remind me never to go to bed after drinking coconut juice.”

Dean snorted. “Yeah, it’s the coconut water, it’s poisoned and we didn’t tell you. I’m sure that’s what’s to blame.” He leaned forward, eyebrows furrowed in concern. “You okay? That was… shit man that was practically a night terror. You want to talk about it? Maybe Sam or Cas could help?”

“Nah, I’m good. Hey! How’s about a good morning kiss, handsome? I probably taste delicious!” Gabriel laughed loudly at Dean’s look of abject horror.

“Think I’ll pass on the smooches, thanks.”

“Pfft, you said smooches.”

“What are you, twelve? If your done puking your guts all over the forest, we need to get to work, short stack.”

Gabriel grumbled at Dean’s retreating back before hauling himself to his feet and trudging back to camp. Sam and Cas were speaking quietly to the children, but looked up as Dean and he approached.

“Are you well, Gabriel?” Castiel’s serious face was almost precious.

“I fine. Honestly. Ready to be rescued and chug margaritas on a beach, but fine.” Gabriel turned to the kids. “You guys okay? That was all… a little too exciting for this early in the morning.”

They nodded, but Annie reached out and tugged on the hem of his shirt. “Did you have a nightmare, Mr. Gabe? About the plane? It was really scary.”

He ruffled her hair. “Something like that, kiddo.” Gabe turned to the other men. “So, boys… now what?”

“We talked about this last night while you were taking care of the kids.” Sam gestured to his brother. “Dean and I will follow the stream that Cas and I found yesterday, see if we can’t find somewhere to hole up. You and Cas will stay here and walk the beach some, see if anything else useful washed up from the wreck or if a boat passes. 

“We also need to figure a way to signal for rescue and boil water.” Dean glanced up at the sky. The sun had only just risen, but already Gabriel could feel the heat. “It’s gonna get really hot fast here, so we should probably get as much done as possible before noon. We meet back at the raft then if we’re not already back?” He glanced around for agreement.

“Sounds like a plan.” Gabriel stretched before turning to Dean. “What do you think, gorgeous? Feel like using those he-man skills to open a coconut for my breakfast? I’ll give you a, what are they called, a smooch.” 

Castiel rolled his eyes to the sky. “There is no need, Gabriel. Samuel and I found some bananas for us to eat. They are not fully ripened, but will be adequate for now.”

Gabe pouted. “You’re such a cock-block, bro. Using all my good moves here.”

“Pfft. C’mon Sammy, let’s get going. Don’t want Casanova here to hurt himself trying to grope my ass or something.” The Winchesters sauntered off.

“Cas, bro, I hate to see him leave, but I love to watch him go.” Gabe twisted slightly to get a better look at Dean’s retreating backside. “Those are some fine-ass men we’ve gotten stranded with, don’t you agree? Cas? Hey!”

Cas’s eyes snapped to his. “Yes, Gabriel? Did you say something?”

Gabe squinted at him, then followed his previous line of sight and gaped. “You were totally watching the Sasquatch just now weren’t you? You sly dog.”

Castiel stiffened slightly and flushed. “Samuel is very… aesthetically pleasing.” Gabriel snorted. “He is also off limits. We need to get to work.” He turned and marched away down the beach, calling the children to him and instructing them to “scout ahead” for anything washed up on the sand.

“Off limits?” Gabriel ran to catch up with his brother, huffing. “What makes you think that? Intimidated by his size? I’ve heard it’s all proportionate, but there’s nothing to be afra—“

“I assure you that is not it. It just… would not work between us. ”

“Oh, come on, Cassie! You could use some lovin’! I mean, Dean’s obviously the hotter brother, but can you just imagine those big hands holding you down while he—“

“Be quiet!”

“It’s the perfect place for seduction. Secluded island, tragic happenings, the only thing we could use is an open bar... and maybe rescue. Live a little, bro. I bet he’s a real tiger in bed.”

“He is in mourning.” Cas snapped, glaring down at him. “He lost the woman he was going to marry and I can’t… Besides, there are more important things to focus on, Gabriel, whether you choose to believe that or not.”

“Hey! That’s not fair. Stop. Would you… would you just stop for a minute? Damn it!” Gabriel snagged Cas’s arm and spun him. “I am taking this seriously, okay? People died yesterday, Cas, died! And here we are, stuck on this fucking island for god only knows how long, and we’ve got to figure it out. You think I don’t know that? There are two kids who just lost their parents depending on us! Kids! So pardon me if I’m blowing off a little stress flirting with the only other people on the godforsaken rock.” 

He stormed ahead, eyes snapping back and forth along the beach. Annie and Tommy were poking around in some rocks in front of him, completely entranced by whatever they had found. They were giggling quietly and signing to each other. His chest tightened. He was going to fail them.

The body was being moved to the morgue as he stood against the wall. The other nurses lifted and one of the boy’s arms dangled free, a brightly colored bracelet on his wrist. So much blood. He couldn’t—

“Gabriel.” He started and looked at Cas. “I apologize, I was… that was uncalled for. You are struggling just as the rest of us.”

Gabriel blew out a sigh. “It’s okay, Cassie-boy. I shouldn’t have pushed.” He scrubbed his hands over his face, fingers dragging through his stubble. “It’s way too early to be decent human beings. Mornings should be illegal… unless there’s breakfast in bed... So he lost his fiancé?”

Cas nodded. “A year ago. He has… not dealt with it well and was worried to approach Dean directly. They have had a difficult time in their lives, I believe. Samuel opened up to me while we searched yesterday. I hope…” Castiel’s voice drifted off as they watched both of the children run the beach, jumping over the waves as they came in with the tide.

“Yeah.” Gabriel bumped their shoulders together. “Anything else exciting happen while I was out yesterday?”

Castiel worried the hem of his shirt, brows pinching together. “I… I told Samuel about our father.” Gabriel’s shoulders stiffened. “It was… Gabriel he needed someone and I just… I wanted to ease him. I thought sharing would… perhaps it was foolish.”

“Ya think! You just told the only other people we can rely on that we were raised by some psycho fanatic and they’re supposed to what, trust us? Damn it, Cas. Sam’s going to tell his brother and how do you think that’s going to go for us? Christ.”

“Samuel took it well. He made it sound like his own father was… less than perfect in raising him and Dean, a relapse of some sort.”

Gabriel furrowed his brows. “Dean mentioned that he practically raised Sammy; put him through school at least. I figured it was something more… orphan-y.”

“They will not judge us Gabriel. I think they will understand better than most people ever will.” Castiel gazed forward, lips twitching as he watched the children splash each other. “We all came here to escape; perhaps destiny has thrown us together so that we may face ourselves instead of running.”

Gabriel stared through narrowed eyes. “Bro… I don’t know what you ate for breakfast, but I want some.” Castiel rolled his eyes upwards. “No seriously bro, I’m hungry and clearly whatever you ate was the good stuff.”

“Mr. Gabe! Mr. Cas! We found something!”

“What is it? Please tell me you found a pizza or at least a decent hairbrush.”

Annie giggled. “No silly. Look! Look! We found it!” She held up what looked like a torn beach towel. “Is this what we’re looking for?”

Tommy scoffed, hands and arms moving quickly as he signed. Annie narrowed her eyes. “I’m not stupid, dummy. They said find something useful. Towels are useful.” He signed again and she gasped loudly. “You take that back!” Annie hurled the towel at Tommy and they took off again, both trying to shove each other into the water.

“Well… this is going to be productive.” Gabe picked up the towel and trudged off with Cas beside him. “I hope you’re right about all this, Cas.”

The branch snapped under Dean’s hand and swung back to smack him across the face. 

“Gah! I fucking hate the jungle. Why the hell did we choose the tropics again? Should’ve just gone on a freaking road trip in Baby.”

“Yeah, cause our entire childhood wasn’t enough of a road trip for both of us. Stop bitching, I think we’re close to where Cas and I were yesterday.”

Dean huffed and followed his brother’s massive frame through the trees. He was so done with this whole thing: the coconuts, the heat, and this whole fucking nightmare. His t-shirt was sticking to him and there was a hoard of mosquitoes dive bombing his face.

“Well, not all of us have thick mops of fur on our heads to protect us from the wild life. Really dude, isn’t there some code or something that doctors can’t have their hair so long? Or do you just use it as back-up for when the sutures run out?”

Sam stopped long enough to glare at him before pushing through into a small clearing. “Yep, this is where we were, there’s the banana tree.”

Dean looked around. “Not much in the way of food so far, is there? The coconuts won’t last forever and that’s the first banana tree I’ve seen this whole walk, and we’ve already picked it clean. I thought the tropics had loads of food.”

“Not necessarily. Lots of species are actually invasive, like the coconut, and this island isn’t exactly close to any others.”

“Awesome. Let’s keep going.” They dropped down into the gully, splashing upstream. “So what took so long yesterday? You guys were gone for hours, but it didn’t take that long to get here.”

“We, uh, soaked the bananas.” 

Sam’s back hunched, the way it always did when he was trying to hide something, but also wanted to talk about it. Dean kept quiet. Sam would speak eventually, just like always. Dean gazed around as they continued walking, noting how little food there actually seemed to be. Awesome. The water running between his toes was pretty pleasant and he was tempted to bend down and gulp it, despite both doctors advising against doing so. The sun filtered down through the canopy, catching the green of the fresh growth below. Dean felt the tension in his chest ease, his shoulders slumping slightly. Sam said something.

“What?”

“Cas and I we, uh, we talked, Dean. About…” Sam looked skyward. “We talked about Jess.”

Dean’s stomach curled. Jess? They had talked about Jess! Sam had gone to some total stranger instead of his own brother? Awesome.

“That’s... that’s good, Sammy. Uh, hope Cas was able to help.” He nodded to himself, eyes fixed on his feet.

Sam turned around, looked at his face, and immediately went for a hug. “No, Dean! It’s not… it just kind of happened, okay? We were… it was… just with everything that’s happened it just came up. We were talking and I was ready all of a sudden and he listened while I… fuck while I fell apart. It’s got nothing to do with you, alright?” Dean snorted. “I’m serious. I mean, yeah Cas was really great about it and he just… he let me talk about her, you know. And you… we…”

“No, I get it, Sammy. I do. It’s fine. Let’s just… let’s just find somewhere to hole up, okay?” He brushed past his brother, ignoring the reaching arms. They had a job to do. “Any other revelations that happened while you two lovebirds were out here alone.”

Sam’s nose wrinkled. “Dude, you are so allergic to serious conversations. And, yeah, Cas told me some stuff too.”

“Yeah? Like what?”

Sam remained quiet for a while, which was just fine with Dean. They kept marching for a ways, before he turned a bend and came up short. 

“Would you look at this?”

It was a cave. More of an indent in the side of a hill really, but more shelter than they had. A little elbow grease and some well-placed leaves and they’d have themselves a bon-a-fide shelter. Or at least somewhere to get out of the sun. Dean started to make calculations in his head about what they would need, sleeping arrangements, and how they’d spot a rescue boat. Probably best to leave at least one person down at the beach to keep watch while the others scavenged or rested. 

He was muttering to himself when Sam finally replied. 

“He and his brother were raised in some kind of religious cult.” Dean froze as Sam continued. “It was pretty bad, I guess, and they escaped when they were both kind of young. I don’t know how much I should tell you, but Cas still struggles with some of the stuff that happened when they were still there.”

“A cult? Really? An honest-to-god cult? We’re not gonna wake up to them dancing around and eating our faces or something right?”

Bitch face. “Really, Dean? We’ve known them long enough, do you think they’d actually hurt us? Hell, Cas saved me. Dean we’d both probably be dead if they weren’t here.”

Dean cut him off. “I know, I know. Just… knee-jerk reaction alright. It’s weird. If you think they’re fine, then so do I… We should head back, tell them about this spot. Seems like as good a place as anything else we’re gonna find. Think they saw a boat while we were gone? That’d be frickin’ awesome.”

“Yeah, don’t think that’s gonna happen for a while. Just try not to be a dick, Dean. We’ve all got to live together until we get rescued.”

“Yeah, yeah. When am I ever a dick… don’t answer that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy crap that took way too long. Sorry, I got Skyrim with all the expansions and well... you know. I'll try to be more timely after this, especially since we're going to be getting into some action.


	5. Chapter Five

Chapter Five

 

Castiel followed his brother and the two children down the beach, scanning for anything that had washed up. They hadn’t found anything truly useful so far and he was starting to feel hunger gnaw at his insides.  It was… unsettling how quiet the world was.  The ocean seemed to swallow every sound until there was nothing but waves and the sunlight was quickly becoming oppressive despite how early it was. They still didn’t have water, proper shelter or a reliable food supply (the bananas would only last a couple of days at most). Castiel had always thought of the tropics as paradise, overflowing with food and joy. How could they possibly survive in such an inhospitable place?

 

“Mr. Castiel?”

 

He looked down at Annette, her dress already crusted and filthy. “You may call me Cas. There’s no need to be formal. What is it?”

 

She danced a little in place, hands twisted in the hem. “I need to go.”

 

Cas tilted his head. “Go? Go where?  We will return to the raft shortly if –“

 

“No! I need _go_.” Annette bounced again, crossing her legs theatrically. “Where’s the bathroom?”

 

Oh. _Oh._ “I, uh, just a… um, _Gabriel!_ ”

 

His brother pivoted where he was walking with Tommy and came sprinting towards them. “What is it? Is someone hurt? Shit, I left the first aid kit back at camp! How bad is it, let me see. Please say no one stepped on anything, we don’t have anything to treat infections and –“

 

“No, no, it’s just…” Castiel gestured helplessly at Annette who was bouncing in earnest now. “She has to, um, go.”

 

Gabriel stared at him for a long moment before bursting into near hysterical laughter. “Is that all? Jesus, Cassie, I thought someone was _dying_.” He clutched at Castiel’s arm. “Oh god your face right now. I wish my camera hadn’t died in the crash.”

 

“Mr. Gabe! I’ve really got to go.  Where’s the bathroom?”

 

“Alright, alright.” Gabriel straightened even as his shoulders continued to vibrate with laughter. “I’m going to tell you a secret.  We’re going to make our own toilets while we’re one the island.” He took Annette’s hand and tugged her gently towards the jungle. “Just like they used to do before there were toilets.”

 

“There weren’t always toilets? How did people go?”

 

“Well, they dug holes in the ground and went in those, so that’s what we’re going to do.  I’ll help you with this first one, but you’re going to have to do the rest by yourself, okay? And make sure you cover it back up cause it’d be totally gross if someone stepped in it.”

 

Castiel watched as his brother led Annette away, how easily he fell into the role of caregiver.  He looked away as his fingernails dug into his skin. Why couldn’t he do that? He knew what to do it was just… Cas blew out a sigh and looked up as Tommy came trotting over. He smiled nervously at the boy.

 

“Do you want to look around a little while they’re busy?” A nod. “Alright, let’s continue.”

 

He walked beside Tommy as they moved down the beach staying within sight of Gabriel, who now stood like a sentry just outside of the trees. Castiel flicked his gaze towards Tommy a few times, wondering if he should try to strike up a conversation or if that would only make things more… unpleasant.

 

“You do not need to use the restroom as well, do you?” Tommy shook his head. “Oh, then… good.” Cas twisted the edges of his shirt again, faintly hearing Michael scolding him in the back of his head.

 

_You’re a warrior of God, Castiel. Fear nothing… and stop ruining your shirts! A warrior isn’t nervous, only ever filled with the fervor of his mission._

He came back to himself when someone jerked on his sleeve. Tommy was pointing to something in the shallow water, barely covered in the receding tide.

 

He waded out carefully, keeping a look out for anything else useful or dangerous. It wouldn’t do to step on a sea urchin. He tossed the trash back onto dry ground and joined Tommy in investigating. The shredded bag clanged slightly when Cas moved it. He was about to open it the rest of the way when Tommy snatched it from him, clutching it to his chest.

 

“Tommy? What’s wrong?” Tommy glared at him and clung tighter, his eyes slowly filling with tears as he signed. Castiel knelt in front of him. “Tommy, we may need whatever is in that bag. It could help us. You can have it back after I check it, I promise.”

 

Tommy bared his teeth and moved back a couple of steps, his gestures becoming increasingly sharp. One of his hands stroked the luggage tag, cradling it like something precious. Castiel huffed. “What could possibly be so important about a bag we found… oh.” He looked at Tommy carefully, gulping. “Is that… did that belong to your parents?” A nod.

 

Castiel felt his lower stomach start to churn even as his chest clenched. He was so unequipped for this. Gabriel, he needed Gabriel. Gabriel would know what to do. Castiel opened his mouth to shout for his brother, but froze when Tommy broke down into shuddering sobs in front of him, his whole body shaking. Castiel shoved down the panic. He could do this; Gabriel was still taking care of Annette.  Tommy needed him.

 

He scooted towards the child and tugged him into a hug.

 

“It’s okay. Just… let it all out. I’ll catch you.” He kept murmuring into Tommy’s curly hair, stroking his back. After a moment, he felt arms wind tightly around his body as Tommy wept into his shirt.

 

Castiel’s palms went clammy, his breath came in sharp bursts, but he kept still and waved Gabriel away when he walked up with Annette. Tommy’s sister hesitated for a long moment before joining the hug and speaking softly to her brother. Tommy shifted to drag his sister closer and she caught sight of her parents’ bag. Annette began to cry, scrabbling to grab ahold of the backpack and yanking on it. Gabriel quickly joined them, murmuring soothingly.

 

Castiel buried his face into Gabriel’s neck.  His brother stank of sweat and sea water, but it was better than looking at the children’s tear-streaked faces. A hand caressed the back of his neck and tugged him deeper into the embrace. He wasn’t sure how long they stayed like that, but eventually Gabriel stood and said something about returning to the raft so they could all eat. Annette and Tommy stood, clutching the bag between them and sniffling.

 

He took a shuddering breath. “Children. I… I can’t imagine how difficult this is for you and I am so, so very sorry. I promise I’ll give the bag right back to you, but I do need to see what’s in it.” Gabriel shot him a look, but Castiel continued. “We’re all going to take care of each other, but we don’t have the proper tools to do so. Please, let me see what’s inside of the bag. It might have something in it that we can use to signal for rescue.”

 

They looked up at him, trembling, and then stared at each other for a long moment. Tommy stood and carefully handed Castiel the bag.

 

“Be careful, Mr. Cas. It’s… it’s really important. Daddy was going to take us fishing and camping and he said we weren’t supposed to touch this bag ‘cause it was important and not for kids but you’re not a kid so it should be fine but you should still be careful and please don’t break it.”

 

“I will be extremely careful and you may both watch me go through it to make sure I am taking every precaution. Thank you, children.”

 

Castiel knelt in front of them and began to peel the shredded bag apart. Annette and Tommy knelt close to him, eyes intent on the parent’s bag. Gabriel moved around behind him, but did not join in.

 

The first thing he withdrew was a heavy axe-like object still in its sheath. Tommy made a low sound in his throat and signaled to Annette again.

 

“Tommy says that Daddy bought that at the store.  It’s an “al-survival hatching blade” and can be used for everything! Daddy was going to take us all fishing, but it was supposed to be a surprise since Mama doesn’t like fish.”

 

“I see. Your father made a very fine choice. I’m sure we can use this.” Castiel tried to put every ounce of confidence and assurance he didn’t feel into his voice and set it aside. The next items were a small metal pot and some fishing line. Another small first aid kit fell out when he gently shook the bag and that was it. There was nothing else.

 

Castiel was exhausted. How in the world were they going to keep six people alive with a blade, a pot, and some bananas? Certainly, someone with training could do it, but two doctors, a chef, and an academic?

 

“C’mon guys.  I think Dean-o and Samsquatch are back.”

 

The children carefully took the bag again as Castiel and his brother shared the remaining items between them. Samuel looked up at their approach and gave a tentative smile.

 

Dean glanced at Gabriel. “What? No one came running to swoop us off to safety?”

 

“Alas, there weren’t any boats on our walk. If there had been, I would have shown off my legs and saved us all.” Gabriel winked. “They are works of art after all.”

 

Dean’s eyes strayed lower. “I’m sure they are.”

 

Samuel cleared his throat loudly before smacking his brother upside the head. “There are children present, remember. And the whole deserted island thing. Remember that?”

 

Dean scowled at his brother before turning back. “Did you guys find anything helpful on your walk since we aren’t rescued yet?”

 

“Indeed, though we did not go very far.” Castiel laid his burdens by the raft. “We found another bag and it had these in it.”

 

The Winchesters crowed suddenly and snapped up the blade and pot. “We’re saved! Look, Sammy. Bet we could have that cave spot fixed up by tomorrow with this to help us. Didn’t think I’d ever be glad to see this kind of stuff again.”

 

Gabriel furrowed his brows.  “We still don’t have a way to make fire.”

 

“We got wood and a can-do attitude. Hell, Dad set us loose in one of national parks when we hadn’t even hit double digits yet so we could learn to survive rough. It was, uh… he thought we should learn to survive on our own, you know? In case. The rangers found us after about a week and Sammy caught a cold cause he’s a delicate little princess, but… yeah. No harm done. Just means we’re prepared now.”

 

Castiel thought that Samuel was already as tense as he could possibly be, but apparently he was wrong. Very wrong. He could tell the moment when the hand on Dean’s shoulder became just a hair too tight.

 

“We found a cave up the stream. Figured we could set up base-camp there and make sure to leave someone down here to flag down a boat or something. Why don’t we grab a couple of extra coconuts, pack up and head that way.” Sam turned away sharply and began to stuff the spare shirts into a bag.

 

It took depressingly little time for everything to be squared away and for them to be on their way. Annette clung to her brother and refused to speak, so the walk to their new camp was stifling and silent. It wasn’t even mid-day yet and already spirits seemed low. Since Gabriel didn’t seem inclined to fix anything, perhaps it fell to him.

 

Castiel cleared his throat. Then again for good measure. “Annette, I was wondering if you and Tommy could teach me sign language. If we are to be living together until rescue, it would seem prudent.  I also admit that I am very curious.”

 

“Hey! That’s a good idea, Cassie! What d’ya say kiddos, want to teach an old dog some new tricks?”

 

The children blinked up at them before turning to each other. Annette signed something to her brother and he shrugged.

 

“Okay. That’s a tree and you go like this!” Annette laid one of her arms flat, while the other came up perpendicular to wave slightly. Both children giggled loudly when the adults mimicked.

 

Yes. Perhaps they could survive this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dear lord, I am so sorry this took so long. Almost a year! In my defense, I was in my last year of college. I graduate next Saturday, so I should have more time to write until I find a job. This chapter is only six and a half pages, but I thought you might want something... Please comment and let me know what you think. I have most of the story planned out and I'm going to play with the tags a bit. Thank you for the kind people who have continued to encourage me. 
> 
> Hopefully I will get back in the swing of things soon.


End file.
